


The Tailed-Beast Keys

by SharenaSenpai



Category: Fairy Tail, Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:07:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23356687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SharenaSenpai/pseuds/SharenaSenpai
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia, a celestial spirit wizard, must work with her guild mates to find a way to break the curse on the Tailed-Beast keys. However, not everyone is on her side. Some people don't want the curse to be broken. They will do everything in their power to prevent it. They probably won't have to try very hard as Lucy's only lead to break the curse are just unproven theories.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue

Celestial Spirit keys; magic items that enable the user to call upon a spiritual being to aid them in battle. Each key is a gateway for each individual spirit. In order to call upon these spirits for battle, a wizard must first establish a contract with the spirit. There are many different kinds of keys that mages, or wizards, as they are more commonly referred to as, can use. It is said that the Zodiac keys are the strongest of all celestial spirit keys. However, there is an even stronger set of keys that exist. These set of keys far surpass the strength of the Zodiac’s. These keys are known as the Tailed-Beast keys. 

~X~

One thousand years ago, an enormous beast terrorized the land. A beast so big it rivaled the size of even the tallest mountains. The beast was equipped with ten long tails. One swing and an entire forest would be cut down. One step and a whole village would be flattened. The beast, called the Ten-tails, ravaged the land for ten days taking half of the Elemental Nations with it. However, in the midst of such vast destruction, two wizards stepped forward and sacrificed their lives to seal the beast away. The wizards were able to seal the body of the beast in the moon and split its magic power into nine separate entities.

These entities, while much smaller than the Ten-tailed beast, still towered over the forests and could touch the top of the mountains. In addition, each beast came with tails of numerous varieties. One having just a singular tail while another having nine. The attributes of these entities led to them being known as the Tailed-Beasts. Fearing their power and destruction and a repeat of the Ten-tails calamity, the two wizards sent the Tailed-Beasts to the Celestial Spirit King to watch over. 

Spending much time watching over them, the Celestial Spirit King realized that the Tailed-Beasts were much different than the Ten-tails. While the Ten-tails seemed to bring on mindless destruction, these nine beasts were intelligent and kind. They showcased a strength that the Spirit King has never seen before. Noticing their control over their own powers and their will to be free, the Spirit King made them each a key that would allow them to be summoned into the human world. The Spirit King explained that while it wasn’t complete freedom, they would at least be able to see the world outside of their celestial one. 

The nine beasts agreed. Even knowing that they would have to wait for a human to make a contract with them, the knowledge of having a chance to see the outside world was too much of an offer to pass up. However, the Spirit King made a grave mistake. When the Tailed-Beast keys were finally found on Earthland, the wizards that attempted to summon the beasts were instead sucked into the keys themselves. Perhaps the power of the beasts was too great for the wizards. If that were the case, then why wouldn’t it just be a failed summoning? Why would the wizards get sucked into the keys? 

It soon became clear to the Spirit King. He had overlooked one small detail. The nine beasts weren’t celestial beings of his realm. They were originally from a being originating from Earthland. However, in coming to the Celestial world under his divine protection, summoning their presence and power back to Earthland would require a magical medium from Earthland. The unfortunate wizards that found the keys became those mediums. 

The wizards became stuck in a type of limbo. One that existed between Earthland and the Celestial world. They essentially became living spirits, Jinchūriki. They became conduits for the beast’s power. Unable to age, but still susceptible to death. When that death comes, it doesn’t just end with them. Another medium is needed to maintain the balance of power. And so is the cycle of the curse of the Tailed-Beast keys.

~X~

Many people know the story of how the Tailed-Beast keys came to be, but many could care less about the key’s curse. As long as there is power and they are safe, they don’t care that some unlucky soul was sucked into the key and must now spend the rest of their lives serving another wizard. However, there is one wizard that is different. A Celestial Spirit Wizard that cares greatly for the spirits she's contracted with. It’s one of the reasons why she has such good connections with them. It is why she is the only one who can find all the Tailed-Beast keys and break the curse. She won’t just free the Jinchūriki, but she’ll find a way for the Tailed-Beasts to finally gain their freedom as well. Her name?

Lucy Heartfilia.

  
  



	2. Chapter 1

_Hargeon Town…x784_

Lucy Heartfilia walked through the port town of Hargeon, taking in the sights around her. She had rarely gotten to venture outside of her home and everything looked so amazing! There are so many people out and about exchanging goods that the town is just bustling with life. A vast contrast to her usual everyday life at the Heartfilia mansion. While Lucy had been to many places, nothing could compare to the sight of the ocean on the horizon and the mist blowing through her hair. 

As Lucy continued to walk further into the town, cries for the famous fire wizard, Salamander, echoed through the area. A crowd of women swarmed the square surrounding a young blue-haired man you would assume to be the so-called Salamander everyone was screaming about. The Salamander, known for his association with Fairy Tail, is notorious for causing mass destruction of anything and everything on any and every job he takes according to Sorcerer Weekly. If it wasn't for the fact that he was a member of the Fairy Tail guild, Lucy would never have considered approaching a person that brought about such destruction. She liked to steer clear of trouble; most of the time anyway.

Lucy pushed her way to the front of the crowd of girls to get closer to the Salamander. As soon as she saw him, she had a feeling of enchantment. Who cares if he destroys everything, he was the hottest guy she's ever seen! Like the rest of the girls surrounding the Salamander, she started squealing and vying for his attention. She pushed and shoved the other girls and they pushed and shoved her back. That is until a pink-haired boy barreled through the crowd. Not wanting to be the next victim of assault, the girls stopped pushing each other and cleared away so the boy could get through. He stopped his stampede when he reached the middle of the circle where the Salamander was.

"You're not Igneel."

With those few words, Lucy became distracted and finally noticed one of the rings on the Salamander's fingers. To most people, it would seem like just any other ordinary ring. However, being a wizard and having a good amount of knowledge on magic, Lucy knew it was a ring imbued with charm magic. Now that she was aware that it was being used, she no longer felt attracted to the Salamander anymore. How could she have not noticed it before! No one can rally such a group of fangirls by just making an appearance! Right?

"All you lovely ladies are invited to my yacht for a party tonight! Hope to see you all there!" Salamander said as he snapped his fingers and carried himself away on a trail of purple fire.

Disgusted with the man using illegal charm magic to get girls, Lucy immediately decided she didn't need this guy to tell her how to get into Fairy Tail. In fact, if all the Fairy Tail members were like this, she wanted no part in their guild. Walking away from the scene, Lucy spotted the pink haired boy that helped her break out of the spell. She ran up to him and tapped him on the shoulder, only just noticing the blue cat companion he had with him.

"Hey, thanks for helping me break that guy's spell! He was using illegal charm magic! Can you believe it?" She chuckled.

"Huh?" He asked, confused. Understandable since it didn't really seem like he was a wizard or anything. It was probably just a stroke of good luck that he was able to distract her enough to break the spell.

"How 'bout I treat you to lunch? As thanks for helping me out!" He and his companion perked up at the mention of food.

"Sure!" The boy suddenly grabbed her wrist and dragged her through town to a nearby pub.

~X~

They sat at a booth and both boy and cat started stuffing their faces with food. Lucy found herself dumbstruck. She's never seen a person, or a cat for that matter, eat so much food so fast! With each plateful they emptied, the more concerned she grew for her wallet. She was only able to save 1,000 Jewel for Nikora at the wizard shop and only had 10,000 Jewel left! Deciding it was better for her not to be awkward and just stare, she started to try and make conversation.

"Thanks again for helping me out back there! If it wasn't for your interruption I wouldn't have noticed that jerk was using charm magic! My name is Lucy by the way! I'm a celestial spirit wizard! I haven't joined a guild yet, but there's this one guild, Fairy Tail that I want to join! Oh sorry, I must be confusing you with all this wizard talk. Fairy Tail is the strongest guild in Fiore! Anyway, what's your name and what are you doing here?" The boy and the cat had been solely focused on eating that neither had said a word since they came to this pub. Thankfully Lucy’s words didn’t go unanswered. 

"My name's Natsu and this is Happy." He said gesturing to the blue cat. "I'm looking for a friend of mine. We heard he was here, but that guy looked nothing like Igneel." The boy didn't even pause his eating before he started talking. His words came out mumbled and Lucy could barely understand. She got the gist of it though.

"So you're looking for this Igneel guy? What does he look like? Maybe I can help!" Lucy offered, eager to help. It would be a welcome change of pace for her. Letting out an obnoxious burp and rubbing their bellies in satisfaction, both Natsu and Happy finally stopped eating. Lucy inwardly cringed at the height of the empty plates next to them compared to her meager two. 

"Well, he looks like a dragon." Natsu responded nonchalantly. Lucy was surprised. How does someone just _look_ like a dragon?

"So your friend looks like a dragon?" She asked, skeptical.

"No, he doesn't _look_ like a dragon; he _is_ a dragon!" Happy said happily. At this Lucy's jaw dropped to the floor. First of all, a talking cat! Since when do cats talk! Second, Impossible! Dragons are extremely rare and they haven’t been seen for years! A majority of people think dragons went extinct! So why in the world would the friend they’re looking for be a dragon and be in a town like this? The port town of Hargeon may be big, but definitely not the scene for a dragon. 

"If your friend really is a dragon, why would he be in the middle of a town like this?" Both Natsu and Happy shrugged. Idiots…

No longer believing she could help the two find their “dragon” friend, Lucy stood up from the booth and placed the 10,000 Jewel she had left on the table as she cried on the inside. 

"Anyway, thanks again for your help." She said as she started walking towards the exit of the pub. 

As she made to walk out of the restaurant, she felt a weird sensation and turned around to see Natsu and Happy on their knees bowing to her and causing a scene. Everyone was watching the weird display.

"Thank you for your kindness! You really didn't have to pay for our food! We weren't trying to save you or anything!" They said simultaneously. Lucy just waved them off awkwardly as she left, not wanting to be the center of attention anymore.

~X~

A little while after that strange encounter, Lucy found herself reading the newest edition of Sorcerer Weekly on a park bench. She knew when she first set out on her journey that she had to join Fairy Tail. Only thing is, she has no idea where it is or even how to get in! If she can even find the guild, will she have to pass some sort of test? What if they don't accept her? With their vast numbers of powerful wizards and numerous job opportunities, the Fairy Tail guild is the only place Lucy can think of that can help her achieve her goal. As she was pondering her next move aloud, Salamander came out from the bushes and sat next to her on the bench.

"Hey there! So you want to join Fairy Tail huh?" He asked, obviously having eavesdropped. Lucy did not like this guy. Just as she was about to get up and leave he said, "You know, I can speak to the master and get you into the guild." That made her sit down and listen. She may hate this guy, but if he could get her into Fairy Tail, she'll just have to put up with it. She was about to reply, but just then, a pale green key in the pouch on her belt, similar to that of murky waters, started to glow softly.

" _I wouldn't trust him."_ The voice said. She whole-heartedly agreed. She didn't trust him either. However, if there was even the slightest chance that this guy could get her into Fairy Tail, she had to take it. There was no way she could accomplish her goal without the help of the strongest guild in Fiore. Feeling her resolve to try and use Salamander for her own gain, the voice relented and the key stopped glowing.

"What's the catch?" She asked the Salamander. Glad to see that Lucy was considering his offer, the Salamander stood from the bench and started to walk away.

"All you have to do is attend the party on my yacht tonight." If that was all she had to do she'd do it. A small price to pay to get into the famous Fairy Tail guild.

~X~

"That Gray is going to get it when we get back to the guild! How dare he give us false information?!" Natsu fumed as he overlooked the bay. From where he stood he could see the imposter Salamander's ship. He didn't really care, the guy was a jerk. He had a really cool ship though. Not that Natsu would ever be found aboard it…

"Are you going to the Salamander's party tonight?"

"Of course! He's a member of the famous Fairy Tail!"

As the girls passed, Natsu froze at the mention of Fairy Tail. How could someone like _him_ be a member of Fairy Tail? Enraged by this new information, Natsu grabbed Happy and started heading in the direction of the ship.

"Where are we going Natsu?" Happy asked.

"We're going to that jerk's party! If he truly is a member of Fairy Tail, we need to put him in his place."

~X~

_On Salamander's Yacht…_

Lucy looked around the yacht cautiously as she sat on a couch across from the Salamander. She was the only girl here. Was she too early? She didn't have much time to think about it as the Salamander started speaking.

"So what do you think? Isn't my yacht beautiful?"

"Yeah, it is. Where is everyone else? Did I come too early?" Lucy asked. She just couldn't rub this foreboding feeling off her skin.

"Yes, you're a little early. I told you to come at an earlier time than everyone else because I wanted some alone time with you. Here, while we wait for the other guests, why don't you have a drink?" He said as he snapped his fingers, making the contents of his drink into a bubble form and offering it to Lucy. The foreboding feeling Lucy felt before only spiked at his actions. The same green key from before glowed again.

" _Don't drink it Lucy. It's laced with sleep magic."_

So that's what it was! She opened her mouth as if to show she was going to accept the bubble form of the drink, but before it could enter, she clamped her mouth shut and swatted the bubbles away, bursting them.

"I know this drink is laced with sleep magic! What are you planning on doing?" Lucy questioned sternly. The Salamander only chuckled, not at all concerned that he was found out. With a snap of his fingers the curtains giving the room privacy opened and men carrying unconscious women were revealed. Lucy gasped at the sight. It was obvious now what this man was doing. He was collecting girls to sell as merchandise!

"If you had just cooperated, this would have been so much easier." Salamander said as Lucy prepared to defend herself. 

Before she could reach for the pouch on her belt to summon one of her spirits, the pouch was snatched from her waist and Salamander looked inside to examine its contents. Taking out one of the seven keys, Salamander turned it over and over in his hands before tossing it as well as the remaining six keys in the pouch overboard. Lucy gave a shout of surprise before running to the edge of the window in which it was thrown out of and watched it plunge into the ocean.

"You're a celestial spirit wizard. Since those types of wizards need to have contracts with their spirits, your keys are absolutely useless to me." As he made a move to capture her, the ceiling collapsed and Natsu appeared.

However, as soon as his feet touched the floor, Natsu bent over and looked as if he were about to puke. Trying to keep on his feet, Natsu called to Happy who was waiting over the now open ceiling.

"Happy, take Lucy to a safe place!"

"Aye sir!" Wholly shocked and confused with the turn of events, Lucy was swooped up by Happy’s tail as the blue cat flew them away from the scene. Lucy looked up at Happy and was again surprised by this creature! First speech! Now he can fly!? Shaking her surprise from her thoughts she thought back to how Natsu looked.

"Happy! Is Natsu going to be alright by himself? He didn't look too good!" She called to him, honestly worried for the boy's well-being. After all, he just saved her twice today!

"He'll be fine! Natsu's a dragon slayer! Besides, I can only carry one person at a time!" Happy replied, seemingly struggling already with her own weight. Before she could ponder on his words more, she suddenly had another feeling that something was about to happen. "Uh oh." Happy said as he stopped flying and just hovered.

"Uh oh what?!" Lucy asked hysterically. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"I'm out of magic…" As soon as the words came out of Happy's mouth, his white wings poofed out of existence and they were both plummeting to the ocean. Taking advantage of the situation, as soon as Lucy hit the water she started swimming in the direction her keys were thrown. 

Meanwhile, Happy hit his head on a rock upon his dive into the water…

" _Over here Lucy!"_ With the voice that entered her head, Lucy turned toward the direction of the voice and could see her key pouch was glowing slightly. Now being able to see it clearly, Lucy swam as fast as she could and retrieved the pouch as well as the stray key. Quickly running out of air, she made her way back to the surface. Glancing at the key she had in her hand, she groaned. This wouldn’t end well for anyone. Lucy pointed the key towards the ship in the distance.

"Open, Gate of the Water Bearer! Aquarius!" As the words were spoken, Lucy put the key into the water and made a motion as if she were unlocking a door. A few moments later, a blue haired mermaid with a blue tail appeared. "Aquarius! Blast that ship to shore!" The order was given, but it was not carried out. Aquarius turned to Lucy and glared at her with such heat it sent a shiver down her spine.

"How dare you summon me for such a task?!" With that said, Aquarius took her urn and followed the order Lucy had given her. Well, kind of… With Aquarius' attack, the ocean waves picked up the boat and headed to shore. However, it took Lucy and Happy along with it! As soon as the ship hit land, Aquarius closed her own gate with a sneer and disappeared from Earthland.

"Stupid mermaid." Lucy muttered under her breath, wiping the debris off of herself. Putting Aquarius’ key back with the others and making sure they were all there, Lucy froze suddenly. A feeling of immense power was coming from the wreckage of the ship. She glanced up to see Natsu with a red fiery aura surrounding him at the top of the wreckage. Seeing his impending danger, Salamander made his own move.

"Hell Prominence!" He shouted. A magic circle appeared and purple flames came raging out and headed straight for Natsu. It hit head on.

"Natsu!" Lucy yelled. She looked over to Happy to see his reaction to his friend being caught up in a torrent of flames, but to her surprise, Happy was grinning!

"I told you, Natsu's a dragon slayer remember?"

"Dragon slayer? What's that?" Lucy asked, not completely sure what that had to do with their current situation. 

"It's a type of magic that gives Natsu the power of a dragon! He has dragon lungs that allow him to breathe fire, dragon scales to help him to dissolve the fire, and dragon claws for attacking with fire." Happy replied all too gleefully.

Lucy glanced back at the scene and was amazed at what she was seeing. The fire that had been consuming the ship from Salamander's first attack was quickly disappearing! If one looked closely, you could see all the fire was heading straight into Natsu's mouth! He was eating it! When all the fire disappeared, Natsu let out a great belch.

"That was some nasty tasting fire!" He called to Salamander.

Salamander and the rest of his subordinates stepped back in fear. One seemed to have a moment of recognition as he saw the white scarf flowing from the pink haired boy's neck.

"Hey Bora! I think…I think this kid is the real Salamander!" He cried, fear overcoming him.

"Thanks for the fire buddy! Now I've got a fire in my belly! Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu shouted as he put his hands together in front of his mouth, a magic circle appearing, and blowing a massive amount of fire towards Bora and his goons. 

" _So Natsu is the real Salamander?!"_ Lucy thought to herself. She felt comforted by the fact that someone like that Bora who was posing as the Salamander wasn't really a member of Fairy Tail.

With his attack, Natsu wiped out Bora and his gang of slave traders in one blow, however, true to the stories written in Sorcerer Weekly, he also took part of the town with him! Lucy just stood there, her jaw to the ground.

" _He went way overboard!"_ She thought. Lucy heard a small chuckle in her head. 

_“Haha, that’s my kind of guy.”_

In the distance, you could hear yelling and the sound of whistles blowing.

"Ah crap!" Natsu exclaimed. He grabbed Lucy and started to run in the opposite direction that the guards were coming from.

"Where are you taking me?" Lucy asked.

"You wanted to join Fairy Tail right? So let's go!" With that, Lucy smiled wide. She was finally going to be able to join Fairy Tail!

~X~

_Fairy Tail Guild Building…_

After running from the guards, Natsu, Happy, and Lucy boarded a train to Magnolia, the town that held Fairy Tail's guild hall. When Lucy saw the gigantic building, she was filled with excitement! This would be the first time she can meet so many wizards!

 _"Now that I'm finally here, I should be able to find the strength and knowledge to finally free you and end this curse! After all, they are the strongest guild in Fiore!"_ Lucy thought, communicating with her green key. Again it started to glow.

_"You are a very kind girl Lucy."_


End file.
